Of Whirlpools and Wind: Yondaime Gaiden
by megelert3
Summary: Spoilers for Chapter 367 in the manga. Uzumaki Kushina has been a loner for five years, since the death of her family. When she meets Namikaze Minato, however, she's sent spinning in a whirlpool of new feelings. And a meddling Sandaime Hokage doesn't help
1. Prologue

Hi there! So... this idea would not leave me alone, and I decided to write a fanfic. Actually, I'm doing an RP on the same subject, and this is my bio on Kushina Uzumaki. I just love the idea of these two!! If they're anything like Naruto, they'd be so cute!! I wish that Kishimoto-san would make a real Yondaime Gaiden, like he did for Kakashi Gaiden! Well, onward with the story I guess... And I know I have like three other stories I need to write, but I HAVE to write this!!! WAA! T.T

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any characters affiliated with said manga/anime, or there would be a Yondaime Gaiden.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Uzumaki Kushina was bored.

Terribly, horribly bored.

She sat on a thick branch ten feet off the ground, swinging her long legs back and forth. Konoha, she had decided an hour ago, was irreparably dull. It wasn't bad, exactly, but Kushina wasn't one to be idle, and waiting for the jounin exams was pure torture. Not to mention, she was getting a bit homesick for her small apartment in the Whirlpool Village, where she was from.

Kushina huffed, blowing stray strands of her short red hair in exasperation. She crossed her arms in front of her and pouted. _"Doesn't anything _happen_ around here?" _she thought.

Her teammates were already jounin, so they had decided to stay in the village. She'd had to travel all the way here alone, not that it was any trouble for an "awesome ninja like herself", in her words.

The only thing she had found interesting in Konoha so far had been a boy, and he wasn't even interesting in a good way. She had met him at the gates of Konoha, and the blonde twit had smirked at her when she stated her purpose - the jounin exams. Never in her 17 years of life had she wanted to slap a boy more.

And she did.

Her amber-brown eyes twinkled at the memory. The poor boy's cheek would never be the same, not that she cared.

Kushina smirked and jumped off the branch, landing safely on her feet on the ground below. Now that she'd thought about it, maybe Konoha wasn't so boring.

She walked around Konoha, taking in the sights of the large hidden village. _How do they even keep this village hidden?_ She thought to herself, shaking her head at the thought.

Umigakure (the Village hidden in the Sea), where she came from, was in an underwater cavern and about one tenth of the size of Konoha. They grew special moss in the humid cavern which glowed in the semi-dark, providing light for all who lived there.

Most ninja and civilians, however, lived at the edge of the sea in which the cavern was found. Kushina was one of the many, renting an apartment at the waterfront.

She had lost her parents and older sister in a war against Getsugakure, the Village Hidden under the Moon. She had been a genin then, at the age of 12. Even now, five years later, it hurt Kushina to think about the wonderful family she'd lost.

Her mind back in the present after the homesickness passed, Kushina found herself walking around aimlessly. Her stomach gave a loud growl, reminding the red-head that it was about time for lunch. She looked around and saw a small ramen stand.

_Ramen!!_ She thought eagerly, speeding up. _I'm so lucky!! The food of the Gods themselves!_ Kushina lifted the flap that served as a sort of door, and sat down at the counter. An old man came in behind the counter.

"Hey! Old man, three bowls miso-ramen, and keep them coming. This is only first course," Kushina said loudly, smirking as the man's eyes widened at the number of bowls she'd ordered.

He overcame his shock quickly, and replied, "Of course! It'll be ready in a few minutes." The man smiled and went back into the kitchen. Kushina didn't have to wait long until three bowls of miso-ramen were placed on the counter in front of her. The man, who had introduced himself as Teuchi, the owner, had brought two bowls; his 6-year-old daughter, Ayame, had brought the third.

Kushina found herself talking to the little girl, who seemed very interested in being a ninja. Ayame had started calling her 'big sister' and asking questions about being a kunoichi.

"Ne, onee-san, are you strong?"

"Of course I am! Ayame-chan, you can be as strong as me someday," she declared.

"Really?" the little girl asked with widened eyes.

"Yep! All you have to do is train very, very hard and there is one more important thing."

"What is it, onee-san?"

"Eat lots of ramen, of course!"

While talking, neither girl had noticed the tall boy standing just outside the ramen stand. He listened silently and smiled at the conversation. His hand reached up to brush his messy hair back and then he turned away. Jumping onto the roof of a building nearby, he left hastily.

A pair of shoppers heading home looked up curiously at the rooftop. They thought they saw a yellow flash of light. Deciding it was just their imagination or sunlight glinting off some metal, the two walked back home.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Two guesses for who's the blonde twit, and one doesn't count. :P Thanks for reading, anyways! And, about updates, I'm not sure at this point. School starts tomorrow, and I'm not sure how much homework I'll be getting. But, I'll try to update soon.


	2. The Bet

Once again, **thank-you for the awesome reviews, guys!** I feel so loved!

So, I thought that my last version of the chapter was a little confusing, so I rewrote it somewhat. It is now spread between chapters 2 and 3, and actually follows time like it should. Erm... that explanation was a bit confusing too... Well, continue anyway, and the third chapter will be up soon. Those of you who read the first version of this, reread it!! Now, there's more on Minato's history in there.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto: All rights belong to Kishimoto-sama.

-o-o-o- **Meanwhile, in the Hokage Tower** –o-o-o-

"Minato, I need you to do this."

"No way, old man! I can't – this is absurd!"

"You're getting the salary of a B-Class mission! For such a simple job, too."

"I know – but that girl is evil!"

"She's been an orphan for the last five years, Minato. You of all people know how that's like. Just give her a chance."

"But why _me_? Can't Fugaku, or maybe Ibiki take her?"

"I don't want to traumatize her. Besides, Ibiki is on a C-Class with his genin team and Fugaku is in training to be the clan head of the Uchiha."

"But Sarutobi... she slapped me!" Minato whined.

"No buts, Minato. This is a required mission. And she only slapped you because you smirked at her when she mentioned the jounin exams. I didn't know you were sexist," the middle-aged man in white robes said with a chuckle.

Minato widened his brilliant blue eyes for a second and then narrowed them again. "The crystal ball! Damn you, old man! Why were you spying on me?" the boy jumped up and down, shaking his fists comically.

"You need watching more than anyone else in this village, you troublemaker. Now, accept this mission or I'll sic Tsunade on you..." Sarutobi grinned, taking another puff from his long, wooden pipe. He blew the smoke onto Minato's startled face.

"H..hai, Hokage-sama! I would be honored to take this mission." The teen bowed low in a rare show of respect.

"Okay, glad you saw it my way. Report back here in an hour to meet the foreign jounin candidate you'll be guiding. You're pay will be given to you after the exams are over."

"Remind me again why I'm doing this."

"Because you don't want Tsunade to...break certain parts of you that are necessary to reproduce... And Konoha _needs_ an alliance treaty with the Whirlpool Village." The blonde-haired teen groaned. "Well, you're dismissed. You should go eat lunch. I'll see you in an hour."

Minato's stomach growled loudly, right on time. "Old man, you're going to pay me back for this. When I become Hokage, I swear I'll make you do the paperwork for a whole year." The blonde glared at the smirking man before jumping out the window.

"You win, Jiraiya," Sarutobi sighed past his pipe once the youth was out of sight.

"Heh, you're almost as bad a gambler as Tsunade-hime," came the reply. A section of 'wall' was pulled down, revealing a tall man with white hair and red marks down his face. He smirked widely.

"I thought for sure that he'd go for the B-Class pay."

"Nah, he doesn't care about the money. But he fell for the Tsunade threat – no man can brave _that_ woman."

"Oh well, I guess. You won, so your next genin team will go to Minato."

"Poor boy: he'll have to baby-sit some brats and deal with a crazy girl at the same time. Who's in the team, anyway?"

"Uchiha Obito, Inuzuka Rin, and Hatake Kakashi."

"The Dead Last, the Medic, and the White Fang's son, the Genius? Poor Minato won't know what hit him." Jiraiya burst out laughing. "And to think – _I_ could have had those gakis!"

"...You could be more considerate, since he _is_ your student."

"Are you kidding? This is going to be so hilarious!"

-o-o-o-

Minato stood at the entrance of his favorite ramen stand, Ichiraku Ramen. Twelve years ago, he had found himself at the entrance to Konohagakure, not remembering his name or anything else about himself. No one had paid any attention to a lonely 6-year-old boy in ragged clothing wandering the streets. Except one.

"_Hello there, boy. Are you lost?" a man asked from inside a stand. He smiled down at the small boy. _

"_Hai," he said in a small, weak voice. Everything was so confusing and there were so many questions._

"_Oji-san, do you know my name?" he asked quietly. The man had widened his eyes then, as if he was surprised._

"_You don't remember?"_

_He had shaken his head. "I don't remember anything, oji-san. Do you know where I am?"_

"_Hai, hai, you are in Konoha and will be safe here. Are you hungry?" the man asked, offering a large, rough hand to him. He nodded vigorously as his stomach rumbled, taking the man's hand._

"_Good. How does ramen sound?"_

"_Yatta! Arigatou, oji-san!" _

_The man laughed then, a low chuckle. And he had made him the most wonderful ramen. _

Minato sighed. He still didn't remember much from before that day. Sometimes, he caught glimpses of his past, but it was usually too quick to make any sense of it. But one day, he hoped to remember.

As he stood there, he heard a voice that he recognized from that morning. It was the evil girl! She was the one he had to be tour guide for, starting later today.

While debating on whether to go in or not, he overheard part of their conversation

"Ne, onee-san, are you strong?" Minato recognized Ayame's voice. She was like a little sister to him, as he frequented the stand almost every day.

"Of course I am! Ayame-chan, you can be as strong as me someday."

"Really?"

"Yep! All you have to do is train very, very hard and there is one more important thing."

"What is it, onee-san?"

"Eat lots of ramen, of course!"

He stayed as silent as his ninja training would allow him. His vivid blonde hair fell over into his eyes as he looked downward. _Maybe she's not completely evil_, his traitorous mind said to him. Minato's lips quirked up, but it was gone a second later.

Hastily brushing his hair back with his hand, he jumped onto the roof of the next building. He took a three-pronged kunai out of the pouch tied to his leg. _It'll be good to practice this_, he thought. _I'm so close to perfecting it. And I'd prefer dango today anyway._

The odd kunai went flying toward the dango shop on the other side of town, and a second later, there was a small, bright flash of yellow light.

Another second later, a scowling blonde walked into said dango shop and ordered their not-as-good-as-Ichiraku's ramen.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sigh I love Mina-chan. I'm a yondy-fangirl, LOL. Who isn't?? So, next chapter is the fated meeting between the two... DAN DAN DAN!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for reading


	3. The Tour Guide

Here's a longer one... And for those of you who read the 1st version of the second chapter, the beginning might seem a little familiar. Anyways, hope you enjoy the random humor! And thanks for all the reviews!! I'm so happy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; Kishimoto-sama does. I do own Murasaki Kikyo, and any other characters that you don't recognize, however.

Kushina, finishing up her last bowl of ramen, sat back and patted her stomach contentedly. The ramen Teuchi-san made was even better than in Umigakure. He'd even been nice enough to add extra naruto free of charge when Kushina expressed that it was her favorite ramen topping.

The teenage girl sighed. She could have just sat there forever, eating ramen, but the Hokage had asked for all the Jounin-candidates to report to the tower around two in the afternoon. A quick look at the clock hanging on the wall of the small stand told her it was five minutes to two. She huffed and got off the stool, placing a large wad of ryo on the counter.

The redhead made a show of looking both ways suspiciously before handing a few coins to Ayame, holding her hand up to her mouth and saying, "Shhh, don't tell anyone, okay?" The little girl giggled, taking the coins in her small hands and putting them into her pocket, mimicking the older girl.

Kushina grinned. "Okay, Aya-chan, I need to go now, but I'll be back!

"Sayonara, onee-chan!" Ayame called out in her high voice as Kushina left the stand.

She jumped onto the roof of the neighboring building, earning an amazed shriek from the small girl. With one last smile, Kushina started to the Hokage Tower.

-o-o-o-

"YOU!!!!!" she screeched at the top of her lungs, pointing an accusing finger at the sexist pig who had smirked at her.

Said sexist pig only crossed his arms and scowled slightly. His blue eyes looked indignantly at Kushina's own. She glared back, but he didn't look away. Instead, his scowl only got deeper. The angry redhead turned to the chuckling man sitting at the desk.

"Sandaime-san, I really don't need a guide. I'm perfectly capable of looking out for myself!" she barked.

"It's not like I volunteered for the job, either," Minato grumbled, earning a sharp growl from Kushina.

"I'm sorry, Uzumaki-san, but the oyabun of your village already paid for you to have a guide. We cannot return her money now, so please accept the services of this young man."

Kushina cursed out loud. Her sensei, Murasaki Kikyo, had always been overprotective of her, treating her like the daughter she'd never had.

But this was ridiculous!

She wasn't some idiot genin anymore – she could handle herself.

"Murasaki-san said that if you come home safe, barring any injury from the jounin exams of course, she will sign the Alliance Treaty. So, please allow us to earn this treaty; we are in need of help since we think Konoha will be attacked soon."

Kushina understood this – she'd been briefed about Konoha wanting an Alliance Treaty when she'd gotten permission to attend the jounin exams.

She sighed, "All right, he can 'guide' me. But this is only because Kikyo-sensei would kill me if she found out I had wasted her money."

"Thank-you very much, Kushina-san." The old man then turned to Minato, who was openly grimacing. "Now, introduce yourself to your client, Minato."

"My name is Namikaze Minato, I'm a jounin. We've met."

Kushina scoffed at the stiff introduction. "Well, obviously." The blonde grimaced once again.

"To where would you like to go, Kushina-sama?" Minato managed to grind out. His eye twitched at the –sama. This was painful.

Kushina grinned widely – maybe this 'tour guide' thing wasn't so bad. The evil part of her brain started churning out ideas...

"Why don't you surprise me, Mina-_chan_."

She saw at once that Minato was restraining himself from attacking her right there. His body had gone stiff at the nickname, and his hands were twitching toward his kunai pouch. It was actually quite admirable – he had _some_ self control.

In a raspy voice, he said, "Of course, K-kushina-sa-sama. Let's go." His eyes twitched once again as he jumped out the window closest to him.

She grinned a Cheshire grin, as she bowed to the Sandaime Hokage. "Arigatou, Sarutobi-sama," she said past her grin before jumping out of the same window.

_This is going to be fun._

-o-o-o-

With a small pulse of chakra, Sarutobi disengaged the genjutsu on his two students. Jiraiya's eyes were wide and his jaw hung slightly open. Next to him was the famous medic-nin, Tsunade. She was smirking at the scene she'd just witnessed.

"Well?" the man said, putting his pipe in his mouth.

"I like her – she has some potential," said the blonde woman, her light brown eyes glinting evilly.

Jiraiya stuttered as he spoke, "Sh-she c-c-called M-m-min-n-nato M-m-m-mina-ch-chan." Then, his eyes glazed over as he continued, "She's so strong and beautiful- like a princess. I think I'm in love –OW!"

Tsunade yelled, "Get a hold of yourself, you pervert! She's too young for you!" Her hand was outstretched from punching him. Upon seeing his still-glazed eyes, she punched him again, putting chakra into it.

"STOP UNDRESSING HER IN YOUR MIND, YOU PERVERT!!!!!!!!!!!!" was heard all over Konoha as a white and red object flew into the forest outside the walls of the city. The citizens didn't even look up from whatever they were doing- this was a common occurrence.

As an afterthought, Tsunade added, "You know, she looks kind of familiar."

-o-o-o-

"Did you hear something?" Kushina asked as Minato showed her the marketplace.

"It's probably nothing," Minato replied quickly, sweatdropping as he watched the red and white object sail through the air. It would be so embarrassing if Kushina found out that he was trained by such a person. At this thought, however, Minato grew confused. _Wait, why would I care if she found out?_

"If you say so..." she shrugged. "So, what's next, Minato?"

"Uh – would you like to see the training grounds?" Minato asked, silently thanking Kami-sama that she wasn't calling him Mina-chan anymore. If any of his friends overheard, especially Nara Shikaku, he would never hear the end of it.

"Yeah, sure," Kushina replied with a yawn. All the ramen she'd eaten before was starting to make her very sleepy. Maybe a trip to the training grounds would help.

-o-o-o-

They reached the training grounds in a matter of minutes. The first thing Kushina saw was an area of the field with three stumps.

"What's with the stumps?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"Uh, those are used in a test given to the newly-graduated genin from the Academy. The jounin-sensei has two bells, and the three genin have to take it from him or her. It's a teamwork exercise, testing if the kids are able to see the true point of the bells- which is to divide them, and instead to work together. Of course, not all the jounin use this particular test- they have their preferences."

Kushina nodded. She and her teammates had undergone a test as well, similar to this one.

"My sensei used this test, since his sensei was the one who first thought of it. The stumps are there because most of the time, the kids don't understand the true point, so they don't work together. One of them is tied to a post, and the jounin leaves, instructing them to not give the tied-up one any lunch. If the other two give him food anyway, they pass."

"I bet you were one who got tied up," Kushina said teasingly.

Minato's cheeks took on a scarlet hue at the statement. "My sensei had a grudge against me, okay? It wasn't my fault!" he grumbled, looking away from the redhead.

Kushina sat down on one of the stumps and grinned. _Kawaii!!!_

_Whoa, did I just think that?!?_ She shook her head vigorously to get the thought out of her mind, her short red hair swinging back and forth. As she looked to the side while doing so, she saw a large monument made of rock.

"What's that?"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Okay, thanks for reading! This was a bit longer than the last ones... Now, this is mostly a fluffy romance, so don't expect too much action- I'm terrible at writing battle scenes... All right, see you!! Ja ne!


	4. Pasts Unveiled

Yay! I updated again! Kami... this chapter was finished around midnight! LOL, can't control the inspiration I guess. And I knew that if I'd waited 'til morning, it would have been long gone. ;) It's a bit dramatic at the beginning, but it was necessary for character development. And there are a few fluffy moments too!! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED!! You guys make me so happy!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto; Kishimoto-sama does. I do own Murasaki Kikyo, Hisakata Kaede, and any other characters, jutsus, etc. that you don't recognize, however.

-o-o-o-

Minato looked over to where she was pointing, though he knew exactly what it was. His blue eyes dulled almost to gray.

Kushina, however, didn't see his saddened expression. She looked curiously over at the strangely-shaped rock. It was a deep blue-black color, and it looked as if something was scratched all over it.

She got up from the stump she'd been sitting on and made her way to the stone monument for a closer look.

"Nani? It has names all over it," she said as she hunched over the rock.

"They're the names of great shinobi, who did much for this village," Minato said in an unemotional voice. Kushina narrowed her eyes and looked at him.

"And?"

The teen sighed loudly, looking into Kushina's brown eyes with his dull blue-gray ones. "They gave their lives for Konoha, and this is a memorial to honor their sacrifices."

Kushina looked away from the boy, and ran her hand over all the names. With her index finger, she traced the letters of one name. The silence stretched, until she broke it with a quiet whisper.

"Gomen-nasai. I shouldn't have asked."

Minato looked up from the grass he'd been staring at. His eyes were wide with disbelief. _She's not evil? She actually meant what she said there!_

"I-it's all right. You didn't know what it was," he replied slowly, forming his words carefully.

Kushina closed her eyes, still feeling the etchings with her fingers delicately. Her mouth formed the names under her hands silently. Minato watched in solemn curiosity. Where had she learned to read without sight?

The girl whispered again, "They must have been very important to you. Whoever you lost, I mean."

"Kushina-san..." Minato started, not knowing what to say in response. He looked up at the sky. _Kami... I really don't want to explain._

"It was my teammate, Hisakata Kaede. We were on a B-rank mission; I was the chuunin captain. She was killed by an Iwa-nin while fighting to recover a stolen scroll."

Kushina nodded silently at Minato's story. "I lost my family to the Umi-Getsu War. I was 12 years old, a genin. During the war, my team was sent on a reconnaissance mission." She took a deep breath.

"I don't remember much, except that I woke up two weeks later in the hospital. I heard that my family had died and that I'd missed the funeral. Being the stupid, hormonally-imbalanced pre-teen that I was, I tried to commit suicide using kunai to my eyes." The girl laughed humorlessly. "I was blind for a year. A traveling medic-nin nursed me back to health."

Inside, Inner Kushina was panicking slightly. _Why did you tell him that? Now he thinks you're a suicidal maniac! You've never told anyone this – only sensei knows! _

Outside, the redhead managed to keep her calm; only the shivering gave her away. Minato watched her trembling back with apprehension. _I _really _don't like it when girls cry! Waa...what do I do? _

"Hey, I've got an idea – would you like to spar with me? Let's take our minds off our not-so-perfect pasts, hmm?" the blonde boy asked softly, tapping Kushina on the back.

It took her a moment to answer. "Yeah... I'd like that."

-o-o-o-

They danced with their blades swinging through the air, clanging in the sunlight. The two teens whipped in and out, blocking and attacking with practiced ease.

"Fuuton: Senpuu!" A gust of wind cut through the air, dodged gracefully by a redhead girl.

"Mizu-bunshin!" Water from the nearby lake formed three copies of the girl, each holding the same wakizashi as the original.

They quickly charged at the blonde boy opposite them, and he cut them down with precision. Then, with a quick burst of speed, he sank his own sword, a taitou, into the girl's side. He looked up at her shocked face and smirked.

"I don't go easy on anyone, not even a girl."

It was Kushina's turn to smirk. Her wide eyes narrowed as she grinned evilly. "I'm glad," she said, blood dripping down her chin. "Kai!"

Minato had almost no time to react. Out of habit, he reached for and threw one of the kunai on his belt. The boy vanished in a flash of yellow, just as Kushina's mizu-bunshin exploded.

Steam was everywhere throughout the clearing, and the whole lake was boiling with the intensity of the explosion.

Minato's blue eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw the destruction. He walked back out into the clearing cautiously. Kushina leaped down from the tree she'd been hiding in, shaking the branches on her descent. She walked up to the boy with a large grin on her face and a hand extended.

"Good game, Mina-chan," she said cheekily at the awe-struck jounin. "Did you like my Kibaku-mizu-bunshin? Invented it myself: B-rank ninjutsu dealing with fire and water."

Minato could only stare at her with a 'manly' pout on his face. _This...this_ girl _just beat me in a spar!_ "It was okay... I knew it was a bunshin, or I wouldn't have stabbed it, but I never expected it to explode."

At the pout on his face, Kushina's chesire grin widened. She patted his cheek, all the while saying, "Cheer up, Mina-kun. You can't always win, right?" She turned away. "Well, I think it's time I get going, the sun's all ready going down! See ya' tomorrow."

"Wait!"

The redhead stopped and called over her shoulder in a long-suffering tone, "Yes?" The blonde teen ran up to her and plucked something out of her hair.

"You had a leaf in your hair," he stated bluntly, earning a strange look from the girl. "Here." He shoved the leaf into her hands, stuffed his own hands into his pockets. "Ja." The blonde awkwardly turned around and walked away.

Kushina just rolled her eyes and looked down at the leaf, only to find that it was a Sakura blossom. "Che."

A few minutes later, both suddenly realized something, and two identical screams were heard.

"EEEIIIAAAA!!!!" (Kushina's was first, of course, since girls realize such things quicker than boys)

"EEEIIIAAAA!!!!"

_Was I just... flirting with him/her? NOOOO!!!!!!! _

---**Meanwhile, in the ****Hokage ****Tower**---

Sarutobi shuffled through the large file of papers, thoroughly frustrated. He massaged the bridge of his nose and took a long draw of his pipe.

"Having trouble finding messengers for the news, sensei?" the white-haired man asked with an amused chuckle.

The older man looked up with unconcealed hostility. "Well, it's certainly a task! Your student would blow any of the genin to Kingdom Come without hesitation! Especially with news like this!"

Jiraiya grinned and chuckled yet again. "And that's why we don't send a genin team to do this... slightly dangerous mission. Look through this." He threw a small file onto the Sandaime's desk.

Sarutobi let out a huff. "I don't need _more_ paperwork, gaki." He opened it and raised his eyebrows as he read through the report inside. "An academy student? Jiraiya, are you mad?"

"Now why would you think that?" the young man said, earning a glare from his former teacher. "He's not your ordinary academy student, sensei. He'll be perfect for the job, and his stamina levels are high. If Minato really does blow him to 'Kingdom Come', he'll run back in no time!"

Sarutobi gave his old student a withering look before bowing his head over the report. "All right, I'll take your word on it. If anything happens to this boy, you're responsible."

Jiraiya just smiled in his infuriating way and disappeared.

The Sandaime just shook his head and looked back down at the report. Taking another long draft of his pipe, he said quietly, "Maito Gai, I really hope that you really are as 'perfect' as Jiraiya says. He has a habit of exaggerating. But, I guess he knows his student best, after all they've been through together."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Once again, I'm terrible at writing battle scenes, so hopefully the sparring match wasn't too bad... --' LOL, I thought the rest of it came out pretty good, though. I find it funny that both are pretty sexist. I can relate to Kushina, though, since I'm a bit sexist against boys (no offense, guys). I know it's not a good habit, but pretty funny to see the looks on boys' faces when I make comments undermining them.

Anyways, see you later people!!


	5. Pasts Remembered

Okay guys, this is an interlude chapter, and I really needed it to be here. Sorry it's so short, but the next chapter will be out soon (hopefully). Anyways, OH MY GOD!!! Thank you so much for all the reviews guys! I'm so excited!

And I'm sorry!! Gai will definitely appear in the next chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto; Kishimoto-sama does. I do own Murasaki Kikyo, Hisakata Kaede, and any other characters, jutsus, etc. that you don't recognize, however.

(----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------)

The rest of the way home, Minato had an ugly scowl on his face. This... girl was, loathe as he was to say it, quite human. It was hard to dislike someone with a past like hers.

Which led him to thinking about her aforementioned past – it was gruesome, to say the least, but he understood exactly why she'd done such a thing. He'd thought about committing seppuku a few times before, when the memories of his dead teammate haunted him.

Hisakata Kaede had been like a sister to him – always watching out for the orphan. In his team, Minato had been notorious for getting so lost in his scrolls of nin-lore and jutsus that he would forget to eat or sleep, so Kaede would always bring him bentos, or scream at him to go to sleep.

He smiled as he thought about it – she used to slap him over the head when he was acting particularly stupid.

_"Minatoo! BAKA! You need to sleep – we have a mission tomorrow!"_ She'd been the older sister he'd never had.

And he'd killed her.

It had been _his_ fault that Kae-nee-san had died that day.

His hands tightened into a fist around the hilt of his taitou. "Che," he whispered as the wind blew through his long hair, sending it flying across his face.

This Kushina was like him – too much so.

(----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------)

The red-haired kunoichi also walked back to the apartment she was to reside in until the jounin exams were finished, deep in thought about a certain blonde Konoha-nin, and their conversation from before.

It scared her how alike they were – both orphans, both feeling responsible for a loved one's grisly death.

Always, she had harbored the feeling, the questions: What if she'd been there, fighting beside her family? What if she could have saved them? What if she had succeeded in committing suicide?

It was a dangerous thing – the past, especially for ninja.

She turned around swiftly and ran back to the memorial stone. Another fear surpassed the last one – fear of the nightmares she was inevitably going to have if she slept today.

(----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------)

I promise the next one will be longer!!


End file.
